Engaging our school

Late Arrivals: Celebrating Improvement

We sincerely thank the school community for supporting the implementation of the revitalised Reconnect policy and procedures. With our new success measures, updated policies, and improved system, we have made significant strides in helping students develop the crucial skill of punctuality. Although there is still progress to be made, our improvements are evident.

Congratulations to the majority of our students who consistently meet expectations each day! Please remember that all students should be in their Connect classroom by 8:35 a.m. Students who arrive late are encouraged to bring a note signed by a parent or carer or to call the school. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

We would like to further congratulate the following students for their sustained improved punctuality and attendance rate this term: 

School Uniform: Promoting Cecil Pride & Professionalism

The Reconnect Team would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Cecil Hills High School community for embracing and adhering to the updates to our uniform policy. Your support in following these new guidelines is crucial in fostering a cohesive and professional school environment. We truly appreciate your cooperation and commitment. In the first three weeks of this term, we have decreased non-compliance to the uniform policy by 57 percent compared to the same period last term.

Leveraging Effective Questioning In Numeracy

Thank you to all staff who contributed to this term's numeracy session during Staff Development Day by embedding and/or aligning numeracy questions within your Year 8 teaching and learning programs. Your continued efforts in addressing our growth areas in numeracy are greatly appreciated. These contributions will help shape the next iteration of Numeracy Sprints in Term 4 and ensure that the program content aligns with the learning objectives in your key learning areas. 

Term 3 Parent/Carer Information Session

This is a reminder that our next Parent/Carer Information Session will be held online on Monday, 26 August 2024, from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The agenda includes updates from Mr King on school planning for 2025 onwards and the progress of the new R-Block building, essential information about what the next few weeks will look like for Year 12 from Mrs Lord, Mr Faga, and Ms Li Donni, and any general business. Join us via Zoom using the link here. Please check our emails and text messages for the passcode and meeting ID. We look forward to your participation. 

Coming Soon: Tell Them From Me (Parent/Carer Survey)

It’s that time of the year again and that means that the Tell Them From Me (Parent & Carer Survey) is right around the corner! 

Last year, our survey results saw a 63% increase in parent and carer engagement, and we hope for your support once again this year. As always, your feedback is crucial as we work hard to continuously improve our school. Please keep an eye on my emails for more details. 

The Cecil Voice: The Belonging Series

Belonging, the newest series published under The Cecil Voice banner, aims to spark conversations between students and teachers, fostering positive student-teacher relationships - a need highlighted in our Curriculum & Learning Structure Survey earlier this term. In this series, students have been invited to choose a teacher they would like to get to know better. In our first episode, Rianna Georgis interviewed none other than our principal, Mr. King. Here’s what Rianna had to say about her experience:

Rianna Georgis: "In this episode of the Cecil Voice, I was given the opportunity to interview our newly appointed principal, Mr Andrew King, to explore the theme of school spirit among other topics. We were able to dive deep into his goals and visions for Cecil Hills High School for the next few years. It was interesting to see a glimpse into the upcoming years. He took me on a journey through his perspectives, interests, and passion for education. He offered me valuable advice, and knowledge. There were also a few great surprises about Mr King, which I won't spoil! It was a fantastic experience and an opportunity to interview someone with a crucial role in our educational environment. Enjoy!"  

In this episode, you’ll also see our new logo for The Cecil Voice. A big thank you to Damian Cugalj from Year 10 for this fantastic design!

A Magical Cecil Book Week

Cecil would like to extend a most heartfelt thank you to Ms. Baldacchino and the Library Team for orchestrating a truly magical Book Week this year. Your team's passion was infectious and created unforgettable experiences for everyone involved. We deeply appreciate your hard work in making Book Week a highlight of the year. Here's what Book Week looked like this year:

• Write A Book In A Day debuts at Cecil
  • A huge congratulations to Tahlia Thai, Chloe Dempsey, Abathur Nazoraia, Davina Kong, Susan Nguyen, Keira Suon, Evangeline Chuna, and Arthur Kozielewicz for their exceptional achievements in this year's Write A Book In A Day initiative! Not only did they successfully write a captivating book titled Stolen Songs in just one day, but their remarkable efforts have also raised an impressive $1,823 for The Kids' Cancer Project. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed so far. If you haven’t yet had the chance to support this worthy cause, you can still make a difference here: https://writeabookinaday.com/teams/?id=713. Thank you all for your outstanding support and dedication!

• Staff Dress Up Day - Book Week Edition
  • A big thank you to all staff who embraced Book Week 2024 with such enthusiasm! From the abundance of Wallys from History/Languages, Social Sciences, and the Support Unit and the rise of the Pink Ladies from PDHPE, to the presence of Katniss Everdeen and the fantastic Gryffindor house members, led by none other than The Chosen One himself, from English and the Support Unit (Where dwell the brave at heart), you truly brought the event so much life that even Woody (Mr Ford's Version) came along. Who can forget the about Tintin's appearance in Cecil, a certain Deputy Principal dressed as dancing queen or Mrs Reid (who was good-naturedly described by Rajeev from the Support Unit as Fiona from Shrek) or Mrs Dovnik whose costume inspired the main characters of our Write A Book In A Day Team's story? We can confidently say that, even with Wednesday Addams in attendance, the vibes were far from Grimm and were, in fact, nothing short of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! We all marvelled at Ms. Kalinski's costume, who was awarded Best Dressed by Iron Man whose stark decision was aptly informed by student voice. Her prize was, fittingly, a box of delicious chocolates. Cecil, "it is fun to have fun but you have to know how" and this week, we definitely had "lots of good fun that is funny.” Your creativity and spirit made Book Week 2024 unforgettable and it created many memories that will definitely inform Ms. Baldacchino's tales for years to come. Before we sign off, here’s one final side quest for you to enjoy this Book Week: Identify as many characters or books as you can alluded to in this text and the accompanying pictures for a chance to win exciting prizes from the library! Answer using this Google Form. We’ll announce the winner on Friday 30 August 2024 so happy guessing and may the odds be ever in your favour! Watch out for the next Staff Dress Up day coming soon. Hint: Imagine Rey Mysterio on holidays in Hawaii!

• Blind Date With A Book
  • The Blind Date with a Book initiative at Cecil Hills High School has been a resounding success, sparking excitement and engagement among students. This creative programme, which invites readers to choose books wrapped in mystery covers, has not only boosted interest in reading but also fostered a sense of curiosity and adventure.

The AMC Returns to Cecil

Our school extends its gratitude to Mr. Alex Tra for successfully reintroducing the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) to the Cecil Hills High School community. Congratulations to our Year 10 team for their resilience in tackling this challenging task. We look forward to reviewing our processes to better support next year’s team in their preparation. Here's what students had to say about their experiences:

• Paige Tran: "The exam environment was excellent. We had all the resources we needed, and Mr. Tra created a positive atmosphere for everyone taking the test. The exam was quite unpredictable since it was our first time, but now we know how to better prepare for the future. I believe that with more preparation and feedback sessions after the results are released, we can improve our performance."
• Krishna Vinod: "I appreciated how supportive Mr. Tra was throughout the entire process. Like Paige, I think that now that we understand what the competition entails, tailored study sessions will help us achieve more success in the future."

Francis Floresca

Head Teacher Engagement